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Want to cut through small talk? Try asking a ‘magical question’
These creative questions are fun to answer and can help reveal people's personalities. Conflict resolution facilitator Priya Parker shares her favorites and explains how to come up with your own.
World financial markets welcome court ruling against Trump’s tariffs
Financial markets welcomed a U.S. court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.
CPAC chair plans more conservative gatherings around the world
Conservative Political Action Conference chairman Matt Schlapp tells NPR's Leila Fadel in the Hungarian capital Budapest that the group is expanding to cities around the globe.
They’ve tracked Americans’ drug use for decades. Trump and RFK Jr. fired them
The 17-person team of statisticians and scientists at the National Survey on Drug Use and Health are all out of jobs. Researchers around the country use the data to understand behavioral health.
Portugal’s Chega party becomes the main opposition and joins Europe’s far-right surge
Portugal's anti-immigration Chega party notched another political gain for Europe's far right on Wednesday after it was assigned the second-most seats in parliament.
Rubio says U.S. will ‘aggressively’ revoke visas for many Chinese students
The announcement to revoke visas is the most drastic move yet to curtail the numbers of international students studying in the U.S.
Trump administration cancels plans to develop a bird flu vaccine
The Department of Health and Human Services is ending a $766 million contract with the vaccine company Modern to develop an mRNA vaccine for flu strains with pandemic potential, including bird flu.
Federal trade court blocks Trump from imposing tariffs under emergency powers law
The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing that Trump has exceeded his authority.
Judge says Rubio “likely” violated Constitution in ordering Mahmoud Khalil deported
But in a mixed ruling, Federal Judge Michael Farbiarz declined, for now, to order Khalil released from immigration detention.
Tate brothers face rape and trafficking charges in U.K.
British prosecutors have approved 21 charges against self styled misogynist influencers, brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, including rape, assault, and human trafficking.
Shooting outside Jewish museum raises questions about shifts in political violence
If the suspect in the recent D.C. case planned to kill people because of their Jewish faith, this would represent a major anomaly in lethal, antisemitic violence.
Peruvian farmer loses landmark climate case against German energy giant
A Peruvian farmer has lost a decade-long legal climate case against Germany energy giant RWE. Saúl Luciano Lliuya claimed the company's emissions had contributed to glacial melt threatening his Andean hometown.
GOP’s budget package proposes to cut benefits and raise fees for legal immigrants
The goal of the changes, which head to the Senate next week, is to save money and send a signal that Republicans are tough on immigration.
China is now the biggest debt collector in the developing world, report says
Developing countries owe billions to China, which threatens to undermine poverty reduction efforts and fuel instability, according to a new report from Australia's Lowy Institute.
After CDC cuts, doctors fear women will lose access to contraception research
A small team of researchers responsible for keeping clinicians up to date on contraception research has been cut. Doctors say they rely on the team's guidance when advising women about contraception.
Greetings from the Galápagos Islands, where the blue-footed booby shows its colors
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.
Trump’s foreign policy: deals with allies over diplomacy with rivals
When President Trump talks about his foreign policy, he often frames it as a business deal. He says much less about conventional diplomacy, like ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Netanyahu says Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar has been killed by Israeli forces
Speaking on Wednesday in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Netanyahu said that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike, but did not provide specifics.
Morgan Wallen storms the charts with ‘I’m the Problem’ — and 36 of its songs
This week, the album at No. 1 on the charts is one everyone saw coming: With the biggest streaming numbers of 2025 and strong sales to boot, Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem is the chart-topper it had always seemed destined to become.
Judge rules suit challenging DOGE and Elon Musk’s power over government can continue
A judge has denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Elon Musk and DOGE are wielding unconstitutional power within the government. Separately, Musk also criticized a Trump-backed spending bill.
In ‘The Party’s Interests Come First,’ Joseph Torigian tries to understand Xi Jinping through his father
In his forthcoming book, The Party's Interests Come First, American University professor Joseph Torigian writes about Xi Jinping's father, Xi Zhongxun, a noted Chinese politician himself.
Marco Rubio said no one has died due to U.S. aid cuts. This mom disagrees
Mariam Mohammed says her younger son died when she could not get treatment for him at a U.S.-funded clinic that had temporarily closed. Researchers say that are many thousands of cases like his.
Trump is pardoning Todd and Julie Chrisley, the reality TV couple convicted of fraud
Todd and Julie Chrisley, who rose to fame in a reality show highlighting their lavish lifestyle, had been serving yearslong prison sentences after 2022 convictions on bank and tax fraud offenses.
Review: ‘Nightreign’ is a mini supercharged ‘Elden Ring’ for co-op fanatics
Nightreign shrinks Elden Ring down into intense expeditions that demand tight three-player coordination. It's a joy for co-op fans, but sacrifices the expansiveness that made the original game so compelling.
In a county that backed Trump, people depend on Medicaid and are conflicted about cuts
Medicaid plays a vital role in many rural communities that favored President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. But residents still seem open to Republican plans to cut perceived waste in the program.
‘We’re in a holding pattern’: Home sales and building slump in the face of uncertainty
Would-be homebuyers are finding lots of reasons to wait.
Word of the Week: How ‘pride’ shifted from vice to a symbol of LGBTQ empowerment
The word pride has shifted over the millennia, from being first used to describe one of the seven deadly sins in Roman Catholic theology to becoming a global symbol for LGBTQ strength and empowerment.
Vijay Iyer’s art of listening
The MacArthur fellow sits down with Lara Downes at the Big Ears Festival to discuss the creative states of improvising, composing and collaborating.
U.S. stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students
The State Department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students while it prepares to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said.
Ex-police chief sentenced for rape and murder escaped prison disguised as prison guard
Law officers searched Arkansas' rugged Ozark Mountains for an ex-police chief and convicted killer who escaped prison by impersonating a guard and walking out through a gate a guard opened for him.
Noem urges Poles to elect Trump ally as CPAC holds its first meeting in Poland
The Conservative Political Action Conference held its first meeting in Poland on Tuesday, just days before a presidential election between a liberal mayor and a conservative backed by President Trump.
Former Sean Combs employee Capricorn Clark says he kidnapped her
On Tuesday, Clark, who worked for Combs for more than a decade, accused him of kidnapping her during a chaotic 2011 episode involving his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, and the rapper Kid Cudi.